Jumping Fox
by Eduard Kassel
Summary: Naru Uzumaki is raised by Anko to be a deadly shinobi of the Leaf. However after she ends up in a strange new world will her skills be enough to stay out of prison? A femNaru/Teen Titans crossover. Made as a gift for Nocturne no Kitsune. NOT RobxNaru.
1. Prologue

_This is a crossover. But the crossover happens in the future so normally you would have to be patient and wait for the crossdimensional merriment. However I felt playful making this so for the first arc I plan on alternating between past and future per chapter. _

_This is for you Nocturne Kitsune, late but here nonetheless._

_**Oh, and I do not own Naruto or Teen Titans. They are property of their respective owners and even my ownership of this story probably would not stnd up in a court of law so I am trusting you readers not to steal my ideas without permission.**_

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_There once appeared in the land a Nine-tailed Demon Fox. One swing of its mighty tails could crumble mountains and raise Tsunamis. To face the Demon the people assembled the Shinobi but only one could stand against the Demon. Yet even he could not destroy the Fox. That shinobi sacrificed his own life to seal the Demon within a newborn infant. He was the Yondaime Hokage._

Prologue

_14 Hours after the Sealing of the Kyuubi_.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his new old desk, tobacco fumes wafting from his pipe. It had been years since he smoked. Tsunade ever the medic had always hated his habit, even if regular treatments of healing chakra kept his lungs healthy. His excuse had always been that the tobacco helped relieve the stress of his duties. Not one to give up she had made him promise he would give it up when he retired. Though Tsunade herself might have forgotten, he had kept that promise.

Now he was unretired, with the hat back on his head and his body behind the desk he had thought he had escaped. This was not good, power is meant to be passed down the generations as time passed, for the old to replace the young is a sign of trouble.

True enough Konoha was in trouble. Disaster had been averted but their victory over the Kyuubi was the very definition of Pyrrhic. Another battle like this and they would be ruined. If they had not been the dominate power before the Kyuubi they would be crippled as it was they needed to show strength least the other Kages smell blood in the water.

So now he had been confirmed as acting Hokage until the crisis lessened to a degree to formally select a ruler for the Village. Sadly it looked increasingly like he would be restored as leader of the village. He was tempted to shake his head at the tragedy, of it all. It should not be like this, he had once pondered which of his students would be the best suited for the mantle of Hokage and now he was at a loss to find a successor at all.

There were those who aspired to the mantle. Uchiha Fugaku had been very bold in his bid. The man was ambitious as was typical for the strongest of Konahoa's Shinobi Clans. However, he was not truly on the level of a Kage and while commoners revered the Uchida they drew hatred and envy from the other great clans. Also the Uchiha held too much power as it stood, no single branch is the greater than the tree. He did not trust Fugaku to put the interests of the village before his clan.

Hiashi Hyuuga had also more discreetly been proposed as a candidate by his father. The heir to the Hyuuga was perhaps a better choice. He seemed to have been shaped into an embodiment of that clan's values for good or ill. The rigid conservatism left something to be desired, but his loyalty to the village was certain. But the Uchiha would not stand for one of their rivals to surpass them and the sealing policy alienated too many.

Jiraiya was actually the best suited to take the mantle. But he would not, especially so soon after the death of his surrogate son. To push the issue would only run the risk of further alienating the only Sanin still loyal to him.

Minato had high hopes for Kakashi, but it would be years before he could stand for the title, and it was no certainty he would be fit then.

No the only viable option was for him to take back the mantle he had passed on.

So it was now his responsibility to safeguard the Yondaime's legacy as the jackals closed in.

"Now that everyone is present by my authority as acting Hokage I call this emergency meeting of the Shinobi Council of Konohagkure to order," he declared. Sitting and standing about his office where the key members of the higher body in the Council. Many of the lower ranking clans were not represented either due to duties in the field or confusion on succession in the wake of Kyuubi. Notably the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans were not represented, the respective clan heads having granted their votes to the new Nara clan head.

Uchiha Fugaku was in attendance naturally. And the elderly Hyuuga Hideki had also stirred from his clan compound. His old rival Danzou stood looking out the window with his one good eye and likely already was trying to find a way to twist these events to his agenda. Of all those present only Aburame Shibi and Danzou seemed completely nonplussed by the events of the last day.

"As you all know the Yondaime with his final act sealed the Kyuubi into an infant in order to defeat it. It was his final wish that the people of this village acknowledge her as a hero. However, the villagers and no small number of Shinobi have rejected this and insist on seeing the infant as Kyuubi reborn. They call for her death, this we will not allow."

"I agree Sarutobi; the Yondaime has left us a valuable parting gift. Jinnchuruki have always been powerful, and the Kyuubi has never before been contained. We stand to gain control of the very force that nearly brought us to our knees," Danzou stated. Sarutobi turned his head slightly in acknowledgement. He doubted and Danzou would agree on anything else regarding the child, his return to power was in small part in order to keep the war hawk in check. In politics, Shinobi politics in especially, uncertain allies and moral grays were the norm.

"Troublesome, people are really stupid enough to not being able to tell the difference between a cup and the water in the cup?" the young Nara groaned. The young man seemed to holding up under the mantle of leadership the same as most Nara. This consistency actually eased the Sandaime somewhat

"Is it really possible to contain such power in something so small and weak? If the fox escaped we would be doomed," Homura inquired.

"The Yondaime was the greatest seal master to ever live, if anyone could do it he was the one. Jiraiya has also inspected the seal and confirms it to be functioning," the Sandaime answered. His tone was undoubtedly that of a Hokage declaring the matter closed between his words

"This data confirms my stance. The Aburame will not support the destruction of the vessel until such a time as it presents a clear and present danger to the Village," the Aburame Clan head answered in flat neutral tones.

The newly elevated Inuzuka Alpha did not offer an opinion for or against. His shifting posture indicated indecision, that clan had always been more suited for fighting and the field than politicking.

"I will not contradict the professional opinion of two geniuses on their craft. The Hyuuga Clan will oppose any motion for terminating the container until it poses a threat to the village," Hyuuga Hideki answered. The old Shinobi chose his words with care, beyond that he was unreadable.

Uchiha Fugaku offered similar sentiments. As it turned out the only one to support terminating the infant was Koharu.

Then came the matter of what to do with the new born Jinnchuruki. There was no unity to be found on this matter.

Fugaku had asserted that the Uchiha should receive custody of the container. As the most powerful clan they were twice over qualified. They could train the container to be a deadly and loyal Shinobi of the leaf already possessing the strongest force to act as instructors. By virtue of that same strength he claimed they would be able to quickly close the matter if the container weakened or became a threat.

No one supported this measure. Uchiha ambition had long made them an object of distrust. To have them gain more power was to invite disaster.

Hideki presented his clan as a more reserved and stable option. Their sealing school would add to the late Yondaime's work and ensure control over the container indefinitely.

It was as better proposal to be sure. His argument held more logic than the Uchiha boasts of strength. The Uchiha opposed seeing this move rightly as a power play by their current rivals. Nor could the Sandaime allow the child proclaimed a hero by his successor to become a slave to the Hyuuga. He tolerated their seal slavery because of the balance of power, but he would not let them become a nuisance on par with the Uchiha.

The Inuzuka and the Nara were not interested. The Pack was not likely to be accepting of someone bonded to the demon that had slain the former Alpha and so many others. The Nara called it troublesome that clan politics had been brought into the matter; he did not elaborate amounting to a refusal. The Akimichi and Yamanaka clans not being represented were passed over.

Danzou proposed that such a potent weapon would be best wielded by the state alone. His ROOT program again, likely before long the Sandaime would have to reinstate it in exchange for something.

Danzou had support from his former teammates and the Alpha, a potent backing. But even though his title was only "Acting" the village was still not a democracy and he would not allow this. He informed them that Jiraiya considered Yondaime's last request a binding contract, and if they broke it he would sever his ties to the Village.

It was even true. And while any other time they would pounce on such a proclamation to denounce Jiraiya at this stage the Toad Sanin was indispensable.

Surprisingly the Aburame Shibi offered his clans services in the matter of the container. He believed that regardless of their decision the populace would demonize the container and attaint those close to it by association. The Aburame already held a semi pariah status and thus unlike other clans would not be adversely affected by such a reaction. Furthermore due to the nature of the clan as living hives theyweretheleast the most likely group to bear no ill will or adhere to illogical beliefs.

The Sandaime was tempted to support this since it seemed Shibi was actually considering the child's well being. But for such an adoption to take place the child would have to become a hive. He considered himself a tolerant man, but he did not think the Yondaime would want such a fate for his child. The others objected on the grounds the process could disrupt the sealing or some such nonsense.

So the discussion continued with no one gaining head way and all of them having pressing business to attend too. Te solution finally came from the Nara.

They signed a binding agreement that the container would be classified as an orphan and not be approached for training until reaching genin, or engagements until achieving chunin. It was depressing how easy it was to return to the twisting words of legality. The concerned parties left the table, no one getting what they wanted.

Departing the office himself a short time later Sarutobi regretted that he had not been able to bring the Yondaime's legacy under the protection of his clan. But it would have been seen as a political maneuver and at this time he needed to ensure the Hokage hat was safe from the Uchida and other claimants.

Moving with speed stunning for a man his age (even as a Shinobi), he made his way through the Village. Though the village itself had been spared damage the signs of war were all too apparent in the people. The air was thick with an electricity f anger and restlessness. He knew all too well who would stand to be on the receiving end of the coming storms.

His destination was a hidden chamber within the ANBU headquarters. Even as Hokage he had to observe procedure in traversing the complex, at last reaching a nearly sterile underground chamber.

Dog and three other ANBU stood at alert within, between them sat a cradle of all things. The security was fitting for the object of this last night's deliberations. Once his identity had been confirmed he picked up the sleeping infant, a shock of sun blonde hair adorning her head.

"I did what I could Naru. I can only hope it will be enough," the Sandaime Hokage sighed. The girl slept on blissfully unaware of the future unfolding before her.

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Not yet Betaed.

Please review so I can improve the story, or something to that effect.


	2. I: Traitors & Serpents

_Well here we are again. Disclaimer, I do not own Naruto, if I did I would be writing for shows using that success to gain the credibility to try and push through my own tastes in an anime. But I do not so I am not. _

_**Traitors and Serpents**_

_Five Years after the Sealing of Kyuubi:_

He flew through the trees, a corporeal ghost, the embodiment of Shinobi. It would take a Jonin to see his progress in the darkness, and a specialist to know that he had ever been there. Thus, unobserved by nature, the Shinobi made his way to the land of decisions before his final destination of consequence.

Decisions, they are never easy, and Shinobi in particular can find them cumbersome. Shinobi are meant to be tools, living weapons whose purpose is to act as the extension of their master's will. If a command is given it is to be carried out; if a mission is given it is to be completed, or else the Shinobi dies.

But reality is never as simple as an idea. Without exception, the greatest Shinobi are thinkers of some variety. Given a dilemma they must weigh the consequences of each action and determine the proper course. Heroes like the Shodaime, to monsters like Orochimaru; the great ones chose their own paths.

Of course the choices made were not always the right ones. The shame of the White Fang came to his mind. Most Missing Nin would gladly join another village for not only protection but to regain a relatively normal Shinobi life. Yet few were ever taken in, because no Village wanted to be seen to encourage desertion as anything other than elaborate suicide.

Tonight this Shinobi faced the specter of betrayal. All options came down to two outcomes. There were various paths that he could choose, but they all lead to one of two places. And either way he would betray a trust that he held dear. He was not a fool, his two loyalties would eventually become divergent and conflicting, and whatever he did something precious would be forever lost to him. And tonight would be the first step down the road that would see the nature of his betrayal. There would be blood, and little of it would truly deserve to be spilled.

He descended to the ground, not raising a single leaf, and pondered a final time. This was the moment; his actions in the next minute would determine which dream he would slay at the end of the path.

The new arrival was heard before he was seen; he was tired, after all. He dropped to the forest floor silently enough but the landing raised leaves around him, and he unceremoniously dropped his package to the ground. He still wore his chunin vest, his face and hair covered by cloth made it harder to read him. But he was weary; fear was already eating at him more than the effort of fleeing and evading security. He noted that his accomplice had already discarded his hitai ite.

The Shinobi considered the package. It was much smaller than he expected, even wrapped in an issue blanket bound by standard Shinobi wire. So small…

"They aren't too far behind, Itachi sama," the newly missing nin stated. He need not have concerned himself; the ANBU's sword pierced his heart before another irrelevant thought crossed his mind.

"_Merciful perhaps, he would not have survived as a missing nin,_" Itachi thought. Having committed to his course he inspected the new corpse, removing the makeshift mask. A fellow Uchiha: he had not really known the man. Now he never would. Strange that killing family was really no different than killing anyone else.

Leaving the dead man to tend to himself, Itachi turned his attention on the package. Using the unclean sword, he effortlessly cut the wire and delicately cut through the blanket, all without even bending a knee. Pausing to clean his sword and return to its sheath, he went to one knee to remove the late Uchiha's handiwork.

So small, this blonde girl in a faded fraying dress for whom this night's drama had played out over. The container of the Kyuubi No Kitsune seemed so innocent in the jutsu induced sleep, oblivious to the evil that had transpired this night. Her sun blonde hair was nearly as long as she was; likely no one at the orphanage had ever bothered to cut it, just as they had likely chosen a dress that was not quite a rag for her to wear. The only thing betraying her abnormal nature were the "whisker" scars on her cheeks, marking her for the whole world as a human sacrifice.

Itachi said nothing as he gathered her up, waiting for his fellow ANBU to arrive pursuing the dead man. Holding the child he was meant to steal for his family, he felt strangely numb. It was not what he had felt at his first kill, or when he had first lost a comrade. Detached, did not quite fit, but was as close she could come to articulating the feeling. The deed was done, the crisis past with his choice made. He realized now that he would be able to follow the path he had chosen tonight; but fet a twinge of fear that this feeling may become his close companion in the days to come.

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12_th__ of October Seven, years after the Sealing of the Kyuubi:_

Naru Uzumaki was in a good mood--which, despite appearances was rather unusual.

Naru was small even for a girl her age, a fact that greatly irritated her, as it was just another thing for the other children to mock her for. Though she had gotten far less of that since Jiji had let her move out of the orphanage. Not that her apartment was a palace, but to her it was far more space and privacy than she had ever had in her life.

It wasn't that she wanted to be alone, quite the opposite actually, but being alone is better than being surrounded by people that hate you. The adults had always been mean to her; oh, they didn't hit her like they did with other children that misbehaved, but she had never had a kind word or any help from them. It was no secret she got the last and worst of everything, from bedding to food. She didn't know why the adults hated her and neither did the other orphans, but that did not stop them from taking advantage of the situation.

That was putting it a bit too dramatically, but not by much. The orphans' logic was simple; firstly, Naru was at the bottom of the totem pole for some reason; and secondly, picking on her was an easy way to gain favor with the staff.

That had been her life, neglect from her so-called caretakers accompanied by bullying and exclusion from her peers.

She smiled, rather than give them the satisfaction of knowing how the words and cold eyes cut. She pranked the other orphans by way of revenge and took the chore punishments in stride. When she really wanted something better to eat she stole it; the clothes did not matter much to her, but hunger was something she would not take lying down.

So that had been her life as long as she could remember – a rather odd dance of prank and thefts countered by punishment and isolation. Then for her birthday Jiji had offered her a choice on gifts and she asked to leave the orphanage. It had taken some doing, but she had gotten an apartment and now had the whole village to explore. Though her wardrobe would not tell you she felt her life had greatly improved.

As to why today was particularly good: the weather was great, she had a stomach full of ramen, and her second favorite birthday present.

Naru loved her birthdays. Even back at the orphanage her birthdays had a special day she got to spend with Jiji in the tower where she watched the festival through the window and had all the ramen she could eat. The bed was also much nicer when she slept at the tower. Not to mention it was the only day she got a present. He used to give her dresses, but this year he had filly wised up and given her a kunai all her own!

Granted it was a training kunai, blunted to the point where it was hardly a lethal weapon so much as a blunt object. But to the seven-year old girl it was the greatest weapon ever and her key to saving the Hokages living and dead from the likes of the Snake Sanin and the evil Madara. She had learned those names by listening to the stories the caretakers told the other children. Unlike her clothes the stores were just as good secondhand.

Naru, making her way through back alleys other girls would have been strictly told to avoid, did not truly realize her circumstances. Such as the fact that she spent her birthdays with the Hokage because that was the day someone was most likely to seek vengeance on her for deeds she had not committed. Or the fact that her caretakers would have either killed her or kept her locked in a closet her whole life had they not known Shinobi observed the orphanage to ensure the letter – if not spirit – of the Hokage's will was observed. Nor did she know about the cook that had tried to poison her, only to be easily apprehended and sentenced to twenty years in prison for breaking a decree of the village ruler.

And for right now she did not realize the reason she could move with relative impunity around the village, was that ever since Uchiha Itachi had foiled a kidnapping attempt, she was always shadowed by a pair of ANBU. It was no secret among the villagers that numerous vigilantes had tried to harm the girl only to be efficiently disposed of by a pair of ANBU trainees.

Among the ANBU it had become something of a joke test for the trainees to protect the container while keeping her oblivious to their actions and presence. Just the week before, in anticipation of the upcoming Day of the Kyuubi, a small mob of drunkards and people maddened by reopened wounds made to march on her apartment only to receive the attentions of a full-fledged ANBU who did not even have to actually harm them to send them running back to their bottles.

It was true that many resented village resources being wasted in this manner. But, just as many wanted to see the potential investment in the container have time to play out, to their advantage. Others went along simply because to defy the laws of the Hokage was to crack the very foundation of the Village.

The system had worked well until today. Today it was Murphy's Law not the Hokage's that would enfold the Uzumaki Naru.

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Anko Mitarashi was not in a good mood; granted, this was the normal state for her these days. Her mission had been unpleasant even by Shinobi standards, and her post mission dango run/bender had been soured by a loudmouth. Normally insults just bounced off her; that was a trait that went back to her days in the academy. and by necessity it had become far more potent these last few years.

She derailed that rain of thought; even at the best of times, dwelling on him did no good. For the moment she just wanted to get home and sleep off the drunkenness at edge of her senses.

She was traversing the village via roof leaping; she had no patience for scowls and whispers from those who could only travel by walking. The scorn of fellow Shinobi might have hit closer to home, but they were supposed to be paranoid, the Villagers hated her just as much without even remotely understanding what she had been through.

Even preoccupied with her own thoughts and tipsy Anko was still a Chunin, and clearly heard a literal cry for help. That actually for a moment puzzled her, she was more than accustomed to screams, or inarticulate yells for aid but she rarely heard someone just shout "help." That string of thought was mostly the sake, and when it clicked that the shout seemed to have come from a child she sprang into action.

One shunshin took her to the right roof and she looked down on the scene below. Her eyes went cold killer at the sight; she may have long since been desensitized to immorality, but she still had principles of some sort. In the alley below her, three villagers, one missing an arm, had a girl pinned to the wall. One had a hold around her wrists and was keeping her naked form against a brick wall while one of his friends laughed and said something she did not bother to catch. The one-armed man, the apparent leader, held a piece of green cloth, which she realized was a ripped dress. Unlike his two friends who were excited he was focused, even emitting killing intent. She figured him for a former genin, and then decided it did not matter.

Mitarashi Anko was not in the mood to play, so she decided to make it quick and nasty. The laughing man presented the best a target undoing his pants, a kunai to take out his weapon and leaving him to fall screaming. The man holding the girl actually had time to widen his eyes as she landed on the ground. She chambered a kick and struck his throat with lethal force; he went down like a sack of corn. She caught the girl as she fell forward, scooping her up under her arm.

She turned her attention to the one armed-man who had used his time to drop the dress and draw a kunai. He fell into a sloppy but relatively solid stance: yep definitely ex-genin.

"Back off snake whore!" he barked. Dropping the girl Anko swiftly formed the hand signs and unleashed her shadow snakes. The one armed man screamed and tried to slash at the snake form jutsu, once; after that he was busy dying painfully. A preadatory grin split the kunoichi's face; she had often fantasized about doing that to anyone that dared call her that, now she finally had a legal excuse to carry out her fantasy.

Sadly, her post-homicide buzz was ruined by a whimper behind her; she turned her attention back to the naked girl. The blonde girl picked herself up from the ground pulling her too long hair out of her face; Anko noticed the scars on her cheeks and felt a tug at her memory.

"You dropped me," the shrimp stated. Of all the things Anko had been expecting to hear, that fell on the 'no pile.' Before she could vent her indignant and righteous fury, the girl noticed the corpses and the thug clutching his ruined crotch, and did the logical thing by vomiting.

"I just killed and castrated people in front of a little girl. Could have handled this better, Anko," she muttered to herself. Going with the obvious quick fix, she removed her chunin vest and draped it over the hunched girl. Using the back of her hand, she wiped the girls face clean. Darn it, she knew those scars had some significance.

"Umm, you're safe now kid. Lets get you to the hospital, or something," Anko told her. She scooped the little blonde up in her arms and in three leaps gained the rooftops.

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_Four hours Later:_

It is never a good idea to bring bad news to a ruler who is already in a foul mood. Morino Ibiki had long experience with this fact, and believed Hokages were the worst; unlike Daimyo's or other rulers a Kage by definition could easily destroy you themselves if the notion appealed to them. And tonight he was tasked with reminding the Hokage of yet another problem.

The Sandaime stood at his window, his eyes trained on the Uchiha- er former Uchiha district. The immediate crisis was over, but the repercussions were already beginning to set in as word of the massacre spread. Smoke from the pipe filled the office; the only measurable indicator the Hokage's black mood.

"Your report on the incident with Naru," the Hokage ordered, not turning to face the master interrogator.

"Sir, having interviewed the survivors and gathered relevant data, I conclude this incident to be a case of happenstance enabled by one count of treason," Ibiki stated. He advanced to place the file folder on the Hokages desk before continuing.

"As per your orders a pair of ANBU cadets were observing Uzumaki. One of the two was Uchiha Ryuken, examing the remains and questioning his partner has definitively confirmed that the traitor Itachi approached the two and killed Ryuuken. The remaining cadet attempted to engage Itachi and was defeated by a genjutsu, after sustaining injury.

"It was shortly after that we believe that Naru was assailed by two villagers and a former genin named Vanzon. The surviving assailant has informed me that the attack was not premeditated, but carried out on the act of running into Naru at Vanzon's suggestion. Given the information still on file from his time as a genin and statements from his accomplice, I believe he was motivated by both a desire to gain vengance for an uncle who died in the Kyuubi's attack and to gain notoriety by slaying a jinchruuki.

"The involvemnent of Mitarashi Anko, rank Chunin, was a unilateral act of intervention in line with the laws of enforcement in Village Law. Her actions meet with the expectations set by her profile and my interrogation of both her, Naru and the survivor supports the truth of her actions.

"While I always strive to look underneath the underneath I believe this incident was simply a rare course of bad and good luck; not part of any larger scheme or plot by either the traitor or any faction," Ibiki reported. The Hokage turned from the window, his eyes cold and hard, and picked up the file to start inspecting its contents.

"How are Naru and Anko?" the Sandaime asked.

"The girl is in her normal tower room resting. I do not believe she fully grasps what almost happened and that blunts the damage. However, it would be foolish to think there will be no reprecussions. Anko is in a waiting room and wishes to released to her home, I recomend that course," Ibiki answered. He had no desire to hold the Chunin in custody but standing protocol for incidents innvolving the container required either the Council or Hokage's approval to release prisoners.

"Send Anko home, inform her she will recieve C Rank payment for her actions. As for the survivor, dispose of him. That will be all," the Hokage ordered. Opening a drawer he withdrew the filled out document authorizing an execution and handed it to the head of T.I.D.. Morino Ibiki silently accepted the command and the document before leaving to carry out his orders.

Now alone, Sarutibi Hiruzen let out a sigh. October was starting to appear a cursed month. The Uchiha massacre represented the second greatest diaster in decades, and the true nature of it was something most failed to even realize. Compared to his failure regarding the overly-ambitious clan, the incident with Naru was a small thing, but it rankled none the less.

For a young girl to go that part of the village alone at any time, much less twilight, was foolish in the utmost. But neither he nor anyone else had told her that, he realized. The girl was truly an orphan and had learened most she knew from his visits or stealing knowledge from others lessons. Come to think of it, he was not certain she was literate. She had been saved tonight by nothing more than luck.

"Jiraiya, Minato is spinning in his grave," Hiruzen muttered. Tapping out the spent ash, he refilled his pipe. He had tried to be there for the girl, but there hardlky any time to spare between his duties as Hokage and his own clan's problems. His years had not pulled him down yet, but of late he could feel time pressing down on him. This was not supposed to be his time, someone of the current generation should be under the hat deciding the course of the village.

The future seemed to grow bleaker with every noteworthy event these last years. For little Naru he could only guess and fear the worse for her future.

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**Authors Note:**

_First of all I must say I am extremely surprised by the recption for this story. This story with that prolgue alone accumulated more favorites and alertsd than all of my other stories combined. Actually that is a bit depressing, but that issue is not relevant at the moment. _

_Well with this the divergence becomes more apprent and the first real movement into the story proper takes place. I took the liberty of kicking some staples of Naruto adoption fic in the teeth. Namely no mob, which never made sense considering the military ruler of the village could easily prevent such incidents. Secondly, no sudden recogntion and adoption. Anko is not going to be struck by such a notion suddenly, nor is she likely to get nominated; thus reaching that point will take some time and further action._

_Also you are probably wondering when is this going to crossover, "I came here for afemnaru rubbbing elbows with Jump Cities' finest!" Well I will tell you right now the crossover will take place during the AU shippunden era. Now now, don't worry about waiting till 2014 a.d. for seeing Naru excahning insults with spandex clad adolescents. Next xhapter will be a sneak preview of that part of the story to sate you apetites in the short term._

_My long term plan for the story is a twist on the multi PoV format employed by such notables as Jacques and Martin. The twist being I will use time rather than different characters on a chapter by chapter basis. Aside from the sneak preview the two arcs will proceed in a chronological fashion. As one chapter follows Naru and her teamates rookie days a neighboring chapter will cover Naru settling into Jump. I have no real plan for a pattern on how the ywo eras tag in and out; though I do plan on leaving some cliffhangers only to skip to the other era in the next chapter. Take this feature as a thrill or annoyace as you desire._

_Well reviews are appreciated and if you like this story perhaps peruse my other works on this site._

_Oh and that reminds me regarding some reviews *clears throat* THIS STORY IS **NOT** ROBIN **X** NARU! I have nothing really against that psairing but that is not where this story is heading. Robin has that slot because his role will be major in that portion of the story. Hope that clears up any confusion, and I apologize if that comes across as rude._

_Finally a big thank you to Whispertomesoftly for kicking my creative dredges into something worth reading._


	3. What is Yet to Come

_**AN:**__ Well hope this gift finds you well on holiday. This chapter will likely satisfy some desires and also engender a generous amount of confusion among your ranks. Good luck with that. Also this chapter is not yet betaed in order to be out out in time for the holiday._

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**What is Yet to Come**

_**Flash Forward**__: Too quite a long time from when we just were_:

The state of unconsciousness was quite unlike peace; even in the lack of awareness the darkness had a murky and suspiciously sinister feel. The awakening saw awareness return like a dissolvent poured unto spilled oil, the awareness of pain was the first to come. Even so the crimson spikes of violated nerves were preferable to the former state, as the pain helped burn away the last lethargy clogging her mind.

Ino's eye snapped open, only to slam shut as light poured in blinding her. She realized the sun had risen, and in the same second struggled to recall why that fact was so significant. Her mind was functioning but remained arthritic in its efforts to piece together what transpired.

"Good you're finally back," a familiar voice stated quietly. Her eye cracked open tentatively and she took in her surroundings. She had been lain down on a gigantic tree branch amidst the greenery, likely to help conceal her body. Shikamaru was leaning against the trunk as always giving the impression that he would much rather be somewhere else. The Special Jonin lit up a cigarette he had apparently been holding and took a drag.

"Sakura patched you up, says you should be able to fight but advises against it. I suggest you take it slowly and head back," the lazy Shadow user drawled. Acknowledging this information with a nod Ino pushed herself up onto her elbows and for the first time saw beyond the greenery, her eye widened in shock.

"Shika, what happened?" the chunin whispered. The lazy shadow manipulator took another drag on his cigar and exhaled the fumes through his nose before answering.

"Troublesome," he summed up the night's events in one word. Less than a kilometer away the Forest of Death came to an abrupt end in a vast crater, smoke still rising into the sky from the burning earth in the caldera.

**

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Six Seconds Later in Dimension 77777777#APFEL

The Sinister Fortress of Evil had see better days, the usually gothic/Japanese castle looked like a war zone. However in all fairness it quite recently had been a war zone, so perhaps a lack of décor is to be expected, if not approved.

The Dark Lord of Darkness cleaned the blood from his sword with a convenient rag, which was once part of a now dead minion's uniform. The menacingly tall and darkly clad figure was a bit worse for wear as well, but considered himself badass enough to pull off the worn ragged look. Glancing over to the white clad corpse of his enemy, the hero, he once more confirmed that this time he was in fact dead. Still, he made a note to send his giant ant eater to eat the corpse; you had to be careful, these heroes are like roaches flushed down the toilet, you think they are gone then they crawl back up while you're using the john and touch your ass. Seriously that is quite an unpleasant thing to have happen to ya.

Gathering his shuriken he returned to his battle ravaged evil throne room. It was a mess, even the ceiling was wrecked! How do you even wreck the ceiling in a martial arts battle? Not the throne too! How was he supposed to intimidate people with a boarded up throne room, and sitting on a fold out chair!?

Anyway, he saw the fight between his loyal left hand lieutenant and treacherous right hand lieutenant had, finally, ended. His faithful lieutenant actually looked cool for once; the usually overblown intimidating armor and battle mask rendered less ornate, and more effective, by the battle damage and broken bits.

The traitor kneeled, grasping his side trying to stem a great wound. His black attire, as always, was intimidating in understatement. Though the new white bandana, while appropriate, really clashed with the theme. His trademark hat was also missing. No wait it was on the wreck of his throne; how the heck did Grady's hat get on his throne?

The DLD proceeded to loom over the traitorous cliché menacingly.

"Tell me this before I destroy you Grady. Tell me why you betrayed our Empire of Evil after so many years of service, my once faithful ninja-cowboy,"

"My former dark master, I was seduced by their dental plan." the ninja cowboy bared his shining pearly whites. The DLD hissed shielding his eyes from the shining light of dental perfection; using the drawn back hand to strike the face of treachery in the mouth.

"You betrayed us for your teeth!? We are villains, we don't do personal hygiene! We are the gross and gritty kind of masculine!" the DLD bellowed indignantly. His voice now had that booming echoing quality that meant something particularly bad was about to be done.

"However in light of aforesaid years of faithful evil service I shall be merciful. I will behead you and sell your body to the peasants for meat, and convert your skull into a candy dish," the DLD declared, menacingly. The faithful lieutenant hauled Grady up to his knees for dramatic effect while his master made a show of drawing his sword.

Just as he raised his hand to smite the ninja cowboy a burning hole opened in air roughly at the top of the throne room. Naru screaming and struggling against three red fox tails trying to throttle her fell through the space only to vanish into another such hole a few centimeters from the floor.

"What the hell was that?" the DLD demanded of nobody in particular.

"Dark Lord of Darkness, Grady escaped while the Deus Ex Machina distracted us," His loyal lieutenant pointed out. Sure enough where the traitor had been bleeding only a black cowboy hat now lay. Hefting his sheath the DLD struck his faithful lieutenant in the crotch by way of stress relief. He massaged his temples as his victim folded up and fell to the floor

"Of course he did; I hate, Mondays. See who's still alive and clean up this mess. I'm going to go lie down now," the Dark Lord of Darkness sighed. Some days it just didn't seem to pay to be evil. He really hoped the private Bedchamber of Evil had survived intact, if not he would have to go kill someone.

**_

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_**

Flash Forward:

Too quite a long time from just now; not as long a time as last time we, but still not an insignificant span of time, but not even close to as long as the skip to the Shippunden Era. 

_Titans Tower_**:**

The main room of Titans tower, it served so many functions it really had no more fitting name. Raven thought of tit as the social room, while Robin viewed it as a command center. Unfortunately both descriptions fit the large room. For the moment the chamber was deserted and illuminated only by the predawn light, from the Plexiglas wall that dominated the room.

On a control panel a series of green lights flashed on accompanied by various electric high notes. Authorized entry had taken place, the heroes had returned home. Though when the doors slid open to allow them entrance to the room it was clear they did not return triumphant this day.

Robin, as usual, was the first to cross the threshold, his pace to quick for a true walking stride but not quite a jog. His goal was the computer situated opposite the couch, quickly accessing it he brought up an image and profile. An aura of near palpable frustration emanated from the boy wonder, likely the reason most of his comrades hung back as they followed him. He did not bother to turn on the room lights, working from the pale illumination provided by the computer screen.

Raven was at the forefront seemingly unperturbed by his mood and falling behind more out of a lack of interest in keeping pace. Cyborg and beast Boy exchanged glances observing their leader's mood an action, taking seats on the couch as Raven took a spot by Robin observing his work over the shoulder.

Star Fire entered in pace with Cyborg but was hesitant on what to do. While she desired to comfort Robin, she knew from experience the last thing he wanted when he was like this was to be hugged like xyltrak. So reluctantly she joined her two comrades on the couch.

Robin having finished updating the profile turned his attention to the picture. After a minute of Robin staring silently at the unresponsive image Beast Boy tugged on his own hair and screamed.

"Dude, will you stop that! Your acting like you lost your girlfriend or something! Am I wrong or did we just win that fight!?" Beast Boy yelled.

"Truly Robin, the illegal weapons have been secured and both buyers and sellers captured. Also the Leaf did not escape with all the money she wanted," Star Fire added. The alien had floated from her seat to lay a hand on Robin's shoulder, which he brushed off with her last statement. Raven rolled her eyes under her hood.

"You should have quit will you were ahead Star Fire," Raven stated. Star Fire regarded her friend puzzled as to when she had been in front of anyone. Robin turned way from the computer to face his team, what they could see of his face set in lines normally reserved for Slade.

"We didn't win, not even close. Leaf somehow knew about the deal and got there first. Most of those criminals are in the hospital and three men are dead. Leaf remains at large with at least thirty thousand dollars in cash. This Renegade is piling up bodies in our city, and lining her pockets. This makes three engagements and three losses, she is making us look like fools" Robin answered.

"Hey we would have had her if not for that whole multiplication trick," Beast Boy objected. Thinking he detected a twitch under Robin's mask, Cyborg decided to intervene on BB's behalf.

"That's the problem, each time we think we have Leaf she pulls another ace out of her sleeve and gives us the slip. This duplication power makes her a lot more dangerous, while we were catching that last clone the real Leaf got away clean."

"But Robin man, if not for us she would have gotten over a million dollars, and maybe even the lasers. And next time her purple ass is going down!" Cyborg finished in an exclamation. His declaration of impending victory seemed to lift the spirits in the room with even Robin seeming a bit less wound up at the vote of confidence.

"Well, her sleeves can't hold many more aces," Raven conceded. It was at this point the sun peeked over the cityscape replacing the poor lighting provided by the screen with cheery morning light.

"Ah dudes, I've been up all night, _again_! This is totally destroying my sleep cycle and mojo! Without my beauty sleep how am I supposed to please my fan girls?" Beast Boy moaned flailing about on the couch.

"Yeah, we should hit the sack before something else happens. We're no good to anyone if we can't keep our eyes open," Cyborg yawned; rising to his feet he started off to his room for recharging. Star Fire made as if to say something to Robin, only to discover he was already exiting the room. Beast Boy for his part had fallen asleep on the couch, midflail somehow.

Raven shook her head at the antics of her teammates, sleeping the day away in favor of night did not sound like a bad idea to her. Returning her attention to the computer she momentarily studied the picture.

The figure was clearly female, though covered from head to foot, her eyes being the only thing visible. Her feet were encased in black boots that bizarrely displayed her toes, other than that she wore what Raven could describe as dark purple ninja robes complete with gloves and a pull over mask. A pair of pouches hung from her belt and she held one of her signature throwing knives in each hand. The only visible feature was Leaf's eyes, a pair of bright blue eyes with a ring of reddish purple around the iris.

Not feeling as obsessive as her leader Raven closed the window and closed down the computer. Letting thoughts of the Renegade vigilante fall from her mind she set off to her room for meditation and then sleep.

**

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**

Jump City, Public Restroom, Roughly Same Time:

Naru waved her hand dispersing the smoke that puffed up as a result of the sealing. Honestly if Pervy Sage was such a genius why couldn't he create a smoke free sealing scroll, Naru wondered? Stashing the scroll holding her outfit and loot into her purse, Naru rose off the toilet and exited the stall. It seemed her timing was a bit off; she usually tried to get to the station in time to blend with the commuters. She blamed the color blind wonders for throwing her game off.

Thus she waited on the john until someone walked in taking a moment to observe the new arrival. The woman dressed like a hooker, but then Naru was doing the same thing.

She had taken a leaf out if her moms' book investing in a fishnet top and a shade of bra as to make people look twice. She wore an open short sleeved orange jacket over it, and wore a black mini skirt. For a kunoichi, well for any ninja, the best place you hide was in plain sight.

Baring a brief stopover at the supermarket for fresh instant Ramen, Naru cut a straight course for her apartment. It was off the eaten path in Jump, okay it was the slums, but it felt like home in a way the swankier neighborhoods couldn't. She found it comforting that wherever you ended up low income and broken dreams smelled the same.

The building she had taken residence in was in slightly better condition than its peers, after all a girl has to have standards (even if they are disturbingly low). Entering the lobby she let her sight dance along the mailboxes with their mostly broken locks. She decided Mr. Muniz was the lucky one today as she plucked the Jump Herald from his box and made for the elevator.

The smell of cabbage alerted her to the coming encounter, along with the sound of footsteps, breathing, and a distinct lack of deodorant. However, staying in character called for her to let him get the drop on her. The slumlord announced his presence by grabbing her shoulder with one meaty hand and yanking her around to face him.

"Mitarashi," he growled. She could not pronounce or remember his name, but as long as lived she doubted she would ever be able to forget his mustache. It was a gray handlebar of such length and thickness that it defied both the laws of physics and morality. She wondered how he could get his under shirt on with that thing attached to her face. His next word, he seemed to be a miser when it came to overly accented words, brought Naru back from contemplating facial hair.

"Rent," he demanded, thrusting one open hand into her personal space. Naru put a finger to her chin and tilted her head as if thinking hard.

"Ah! I'm a few days behind on the living money aren't I?" she answered airily.

"Three," he answered. Naru reached into her purse and rummaged around producing a fist full of crumpled dollars which she dropped into the waiting hand. She decided to prattle on while he counted.

"Lucky me, I had a busy night. Three guys and two girls, and I'm telling you one of those girls was almost more than I could handle. The worse tough was this short guy, what an attitude, and no tip!" she pouted. Satisfied with the count the slum lord stuffed the bills into his jeans and turned to stalk off somewhere else.

"Love you too Ivan," she called after him with a blown kiss.

"Whore," he answered without turning around. Naru flipped his back the bird and resumed her journey to her apartment. First some time with her magazines, then sleep, and finally ramen.

She was still short on capital, she wondered if she would have to take that man up on his offer. After all it was not like this was her world, and once she was gone she was not going to be coming back.

**

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**

Universe 0000003 ALPHA, Sacred Ruins, ?????:

The city was dead. Long had been the ages since the city had fallen, leaving only the bones of stone to languish under the red sun. Nature had turned the sharp broken edges into curves and much had sunk beneath the stony soil. The proud arches that had survived that day had fallen in their time leaving only rubble. The famed murals were dust and the carvings that once adorned each surface faded into obscurity. Even the temple of Ten Thousand Facets, the glory and pride of a city that was known for humility and simplicity, had been reduced to a jumble of broken rocks, its size the only evidence to the vanished glory.

Yet despite it all the stones still whispered to those who dared to tread sacred ground. Of paradises lost, of greatness unknown, and dried mournful tears of the ending that came from within. Few though dared such tasks, for not s long ago the horrors of the fall had lingered in each shadow, tormenting dead and living, the wound inflicted o the world unhealed after all this time.

Yet even the scar had now faded, ad the lone witness to what was about to occur rested without fear among the ruins of the Temple. The sky above the ruins was rent asunder, the edges in flames as the void parted to reveal a chaos of lights in every color and shape imaginable and beyond. The beast fell from the void and the chaos, flailing and cursing every kami and oni as it at last halted its descent on the ground.

It lay still upon the bone dust, its red fur reduced to the color of dried blood, and for a moment the watcher wondered if it had died. Sadly this notion proved false as flames burst anew from its rear, and with them the color returned to the beast. The inferno twisted and formed at last into five tails, the watcher lifted an eyebrow at this development. The beast at this point found it consciousness and decided to scream to the heavens.

"**MY TAILS! THAT BLASTED KIT! I WILL EAT HER FOR THIS! GRAHHHH**!" Its words degraded into roaring as its remaining tails lashed about. As one tail crushed the remains of the Sunrise Gate white fire rose to strike it; both increasing the rage of the tailed beast and motivating the watcher to step from concealment.

"Enough, what brings something as curious as a five tailed Kyuubi to a realm where Tailed Beasts are not even meant to exist," a voice called out piercing the cacophony. The former Kyuubi swung its head to gaze upon the fool who intruded upon its rage. It looked to be human, much taller than the specimens it was familiar with. The human was aged, the top of its head bare and furrowed, while harsh lines crossed its face, and curly snow white hair ringed its head. The clothes were those of a traveler, faded brown and many times mended, and its skin once fair had been blasted by the sun for decades at least.

Still two things troubled the ancient demon. Strapped to the mortals back like a sword was a tree branch, black as the void save for a handle where bark had been peeled away revealing white wood beneath. Most disturbingly the length of this wood (nearly as long as the human was tall, was covered in thorns that seemed to swell and shrink under its gaze. Then there were the eyes, this puny creature meet the demons gaze without any hint of fear or arrogance.

"I thought I had come here to reflect on past failures, instead I find a new heading. Where is your container?" the stranger demanded.

"**KAKAKA, YOU ARE BRAVE MORTAL TO MAKE DEMANDS OF ONE OF THE NINE. YOUR QUESTION WILL REMAIN UNANSWERED, THOUGH I WILL DEVOUR YOU FOR YOUR IMPUDENCE BEFORE HUNTING THE VIXEN, TELL ME YOUR NAME**," the five tailed demon laughed.

"Your container is female, interesting. That will make the search simpler. Will you surrender to sealing or must we desecrate this ground further?" the stranger asked.

"**YOU ARE A FOOL AFTER ALL, YOU SHALL BURN IN MY BELLY FOR A MILLENIUM,"** Kyuubi cackled. The stranger by response reached back to pull the staff, now revealed to be a crook, free.

"So be it. All I have is a pickle jar, I hope you find the odor bearable," he commented, falling into a stance.

* * *

Author's Note:

_Hello, Eduard Kassel here. You are all probably wondering what the whole segment with the Dark Lord of Darkness was all about, or the last bit with the now five-tailed fox._

_Well, until the next chapter be well!_

**Please Review**


	4. Serpent Stalking

**Disclaimer:**_ I own neither Naruto nor the Teen Titans. If I had Naruto would not have been such a chowder head and would not own far better and cooler shinobis with his disgrace of a jutsu arsenal. And Raven would have gotten a lot more screen time in TT if I owned that. Also there would be ore character deaths in both since I am a Martinite. Disclaimer over._

_Here it is, doubt it was worth the wait; sorry._

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**Serpent Stalking**

No alarm sounded; hangover or not she woke up on schedule without one. Anko Mitarashi was no morning person, but the pounding in her head was motivation enough to see to her morning rituals. Since she had set no alarm she knew without having to think that she had no pressing business this morning. Rising from her bed the cool air hit her face, further bringing her senses into focus; it had been years since she had bought proper night clothes, just wearing a comfortable bra and panty to bed. With no great difficulty, she groggily made her way through the cluttered room, sidestepping the trap triggers hidden by the clutter, to her bathroom.

Disarming the explosive trap that was the sole hazard in the washroom, Anko lifted the lid of her toilet tank to retrieve the bottle she kept there. "Hair of the dog that bit me," she thought.

As shinobi working in the field do without virtually all the luxuries that civilians mistake for necessities, personal hygiene often took a backseat quickly. Not just on the wilderness missions that make facilities inaccessible but in the midst of civilization one couldn't afford the momentary weakness of an actual bath or shower. So when you could a field shinobi's routine for cleaning themselves, it was scrubbing the face and appendages and applying deodorant.

As a result of this, shinobi when off duty tended to themselves usually in one of two ways. They took advantage of being able to actually enjoy the benefits of hot running water and accompanying products, knowing they could end up going without them very quickly. Others, like Anko, uncomfortable with the field set never fully leaving did it and got it over with.

So it was in short order Anko was cleaned, dressed, and on her way to the mission office. While she had no previous business to attend to, she saw herself as past due for some action. Unlike Maito Gai and some other ranking shinobi she was hardly a workaholic, but quite frankly other than work she had little to fill her time.

True there were always missions available but anything below a B-rank did not interest her. Such work might pay her bills, but a bored Anko was not good for clients.

For whatever reason she decided to walk the distance from her flat to the Tower rather than leap the rooftops. Perhaps it was the beautiful day, or possibly the lingering effects of her hangover causing acceleration to not sound appealing. After a few minutes of walking down one of the primary traffic arteries Anko noticed someone tailing her.

She couldn't exactly tell when, but she could figure it out within a few minutes. At one point, someone's attention went from casually observing her movements to a broken but constant surveillance.

While keeping her expression disinterested and grumpy, Anko frowned internally. Getting shadowed was nothing new to her. After all, in a village of shinobi it was pretty much policy to have the shinobi watch shinobi to ensure the Hokage's rule was secure. The policy had been lessened at certain points, but the Uchiha massacre had made it clear why the policy existed in the first place. And, of course, being of suspected loyalty, Anko had come to expect more than her fair share of scrutiny; not that she liked it one bit.

But this was wrong.

She did not know who was following her, but it sure as hell wasn't a yomi and in all hells was not an ANBU, or even a chunin. She had picked up on the tail far too easily. It could have been someone wanting to know she was being watched, but this just felt sloppy.

"Alright then, I'm being stalked by someone who only has a bare idea of what they are doing. A villager then? Bastards always did have it in for me! What he thinks he can catch me at something a shinobi couldn't? Or is he just looking at me? I'm being stalked by a pervert! Well mister happy, meet misplaced aggression!" Anko declared under her breath. As she turned onto a side street Anko vanished from sight replacing herself with a bunshin. Time to school a pervert in the reasons one never makes a kunouichi the object of their attention.

Naru grinned at the easy hiding spot as she leaned around the corner enough for one eye to track the purple haired woman. She had spotted her earlier and decided to investigate. Clearly, her shinobi skills were improving, as the woman had no idea-

The false sense of pride was quite ruined as Naru was yanked up into the air with one tug to her shirt collar. Naru squealed with indignation kicking at the air while grabbing for the hand that was holding her aloft.

"Do I know you brat?" a gruff female voice demanded. Grabbing onto the arm holding her, Naru was able to turn herself around, and found herself face to face with the purple haired woman. Anko had not meant the question to be taken seriously, mainly because the answer did not interest her. However, recognition flared as she saw the marks on the girl's cheeks.

"I'm Uzumaki Naru, put me down crazy lady!" the girl yelled her response in Anko's face. Anko's face split in a grin as she released her grip, letting Naru fall to the pavement on her rump.

"Ow! Why'd you do that?" Naru demanded rubbing her sore bottom.

"Just granting your request brat. Why are you following me?" Anko countered.

"You saved me from those guys," Naru stated crossing her arms.

"And?" Anko left the question hanging.

"Usually it's the masked man that helps me," Naru continued while tilting her head to the side.

"If you're trying to thank me, then why are you stalking me?" Anko asked while her eyebrow twitched.

"I'm practicing my mad shinobi skills!" Naru chirped grinning broadly. A grin that turned into a scowl as Anko burst into laughter.

"Skills? Brat, never mind that you're too young to even make the Academy, but I have meet drunks with more stealth. You'd think with how small you are you could pass under the radar with ease," Anko chuckled.

"I'm not small!" Naru screeched. Her anger was replaced with pain and confusion as Anko bopped her on the head with her foot, leaving the limb resting on the girls scalp.

"I have to disagree since you can easily be stepped on like a little bug," Anko grinned sadistically as the blonde grabbed her ankle trying vainly to push the foot off her head.

"Get your stinky feet off me crazy lady!" Naru screamed.

"Stop calling me crazy. And who are you calling smelly? When was the last time you even bathed?" Anko retorted, grinding her foot on the greasy locks. The Snake Mistress sweat-dropped as the blonde actually stopped her struggles, in order to assume a thinking position in response to a rhetorical question.

"The day before yesterday," Naru answered confidently.

"Really, guess I'll have to wash this sandal," Anko grinned. Lifting her foot free suddenly and Naru once more fell to the ground.

"Crazy lady! Stop knocking me down!" Naru demanded red in the face.

"You're the one who can't stay on your own two feet klutz," Anko commented, walking away.

"Well at least I'm not crazy!" Naru called at her receding back. Anko stopped; growling under her breath, she did not turn around.

"Brat, this has stopped being fun, call me crazy one more time…" Anko left the threat hanging in the air.

"Or what, crazy lady?" Naru challenged, placing her hands on her hips.

_

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_

A short time later:

The observing ANBU was a bit confused as to what action to take. The situation really did not fall into the guidelines for intervention, but he supposed he should do something. Deciding a minimalist approach might be for the best he let a single shuriken fly, severing the rope attaching Naru to the tree. With a squeal the girl fell the few centimeters that kept her off the ground, landing amidst the clumps of grass she had vainly torn up with her free hands.

She was apparently undamaged as she quickly set about freeing her ankles from the knots tied in them. The ANBU was a bit impressed at how quickly she freed herself now that she was upright. Not even bothering to dust herself off the blonde stomped from the spot; he barely caught the words "crazy lady" carried on the wind.

* * *

Much like her alarm clock Anko found her stalker had become a part of her daily routine. As far as she could tell there was no rational explanation, so she stopped looking for one. The brat wanted to annoy her for some reason and she would keep leaving the girl "hanging" until something else grabbed that short attention span.  
The kid was getting better. Still not good enough to pass unnoticed, but better than the first time. Whenever a confrontation occurred it always managed to devolve into some stupid argument that ended by Anko tying the girl to a tree.

Normally, if something like this happened she would just put the fear of the kami into the problem and move on. However, the brat was under the Sandaime's protection, and the last thing she needed was to skirt a line with the Hokage. She could have gone to him and asked what would merit trouble and what was permissible, but that somehow seemed unsporting.

But if she was more honest, at least with herself, her encounters with the girl made for an interesting diversion. After all, except for sparring her only social activity was the occasional drinking with Kurenai.

Still, Anko did have other things to do with her free time, so today she had made her way across the village via rooftop so as to avoid obnoxious blondes. Yes, today she had decided was perfect for a visit to the hot springs, and she was not one for public bathing.

"Ah moments like these are what makes life worth living," Anko thought to herself. She might have sighed, but refrained from doing so. She was well concealed in her hiding place, which granted her a nice view of the hot spring's patrons in all their glory. Taking a pull from the small sake bottle clutched in her left hand she quietly partook of the beverage she viewed as heavenly. Peeping required stealth under the best of circumstances, and more so when your marks were seasoned shinobi. But for Anko, the superior viewing pleasure that training produced merited the extra effort.

"Gotcha!" a high-pitched voice proclaimed. The exclamation was accompanied by a poke to the kunouichi's rear, and both caused her to spray sake as she bolted upright whirling to confront the poker. To her shock and anger one orange clad Uzumaki Naru was sitting down amidst the decorative shrubbery grinning like a fox.

"YOU LITTLE-"Anko began to bellow, grabbing Naru by a dress strap. She stopped abruptly as someone coughed, and recalled that she herself was an intruder. The men in and around the hot spring were watching her with puzzlement and some with amusement.

"Mitarashi?" one asked, pushing his sunglasses up from his eyes as if to confirm. Anko responded to the unasked queries with all the dignity she could muster.

"Ahhh, eh, uurrr, bye!" Anko let out before escaping in a swirl of leaves, taking Naru with her.

"Was a woman… peeping on us?" one chunin asked unsure.

"Most unyouthful!" a dark haired man, with large eyebrows, added from the water.

* * *

Her face still as red as an apple, Anko tossed Naru into a nearby tree.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" the girl demanded, as she fell to the base of the tree.

"You stupid brat! What the hell do you think you're doing!" Anko roared. Naru wilted under the words and did not get up, instead looking at her feet before her.

"Playing tag?" she offered.

"Do you think I've been tying you to trees as a term of endearment? You're annoying. And you just made me look like some stupid pervert!" Anko spat. Naru did not respond, still looking down, so Anko did not see the blonde's eyes moistening. Calming down some Anko gave a sound of exasperation, waving her hand in dismissal.

"Get out of here brat," Anko ordered. 'The girl left quietly at first, but once she got some distance from the woman, she ran. That night Anko found herself wanting a bit more sake than usual, and she wasn't sure why.

_Two Weeks Later:_

Anko was thankful for a B-rank assassination mission. Enjoying her work aside, she needed to get out of the village for a while. The hot spring incident had given her peers ample ammunition for mockery. Kurenai in particular had been irritated, something about not making things any easier for women seriously pursuing careers as a respectable shinobi; her usual crap, in other words.

Either way, Anko had been gone for over a month and was falling back into her downtime routines. Despite an excellent performance on her mission and a fat wad of ryo to spend on whatever struck her fancy, the snake mistress was feeling down. It had been following her for a while, the dampener. She really didn't know what else to call it – her education outside of job related fields was not exactly sterling.

Before the mission she assumed it was due to losing what remained of her reputation, though she had now decided to hell with the thing. Let people think what they want… a thought that would have been nobler if not for the fact that in this case it was correct.

The solution actually came to her when she was walking to her favorite dango place. Here she was, walking in broad daylight, and no one was tailing her.

"Shit," Anko stated to the street at large. A civilian woman cast the kunouichi a dirty look for such language in public.

Mitarashi Anko, the snake mistress, cast off apprentice of the sannin traitor, felt guilty for yelling at a brat. She would have liked to see that civy come up with a better word to sum up how wrong this situation was! Anko felt she had more than enough issues to deal with than worrying over some brat's feelings.

She decided there was nothing for it. To get this monkey off her back she would have to track the brat down and force her to accept an apology!

Others might have trouble tracking down a single snot-nosed brat in the kingdom that is leaf village, but those people were not Anko Mitarashi! She was trained in the arts of silent tracking and assasinations; this kid should be no problem! She could only seem to be finding Yamanakas at the moment, but that doesn't mean anything! She was seriously thinking about asking for directions, but that doesn't mean she needed help!

Finally and at long last she found the apartment building that was supposed to house the blonde brat. Frankly she had seen much better and far worse. It was at the edge of what passed for slums in the village. Wage workers, day laborers, and poor old folks inhabited the area. Not exactly the traders district, but it would do in a pinch.

The kami of timing seemed to be doing her a favor, for as Anko observed the building from a ledge, her quarry emerged. The girl was not easy to miss, the hair aside she was wearing an orange dress. Who told this brat orange was a color worth wearing? The Snake mistress prepared to spring down and force her apology on the girl, when a smile split her face.

"After all that harassment I deserve a little payback," Anko muttered to herself. She would shadow the girl for a bit, give the brat a taste of actual "mad shinobi skills" and reveal herself at the least appropriate time for the brat. Vengeance and a guilty conscience would be satisfied in one mighty stroke of justice!

The subconscious had a queer way of working.

_

* * *

_

Three Days Later, Hokage Tower:

Anko had observed Naru's daily routine for three days. She was not sure what she had, expected, but what she had found had left her … uneasy.

'What exactly am I doing here?' Anko wondered, as the Hokage's secretary waved her into the ruler's office.

"Ah Anko, I was surprised at your request for an audience. You're not due for another high ranking mission for a few days yet, or perhaps you want a C-rank?" the old man asked. He had been standing next to his large desk looking out over the village. As he addressed her he turned to face her with a fatherly smile.

"Hokage-sama, I may as well nap the day away for all the thrill a C-rank would bring. Besides which I wouldn't want to deny the cute genin their chances at loosing their blood virginity," Anko smirked.

"Well if you are not here for business what can I do for you?" the sandaime inquired, puffing on his pipe.

"Ah, yes well. You see sir, I have been…" Anko cursed herself for not rehearsing how to phrase this.

"Something to do with Naru?" the old man supplied helpfully. Anko almost felt her jaw drop, but schooled her features. Of course he would know, he's the fucking Hokage!

"The ANBU kept me well informed of yours and Naru's… interactions. I am very pleased you exercised such restraint, you really have come a long way," the Hokage told her. His mind drifted back to a younger Anko, released from custody with part of her memory gone and an instant pariah. She had been so full of pain and hate, he would not have been surprised had she gone missing nin to both seek revenge and escape the condemnation of the village.

It was a sad irony that, in all likelihood, the sole reason she had not deserted was because she did not want to follow her sensei's example in anyway. The god of shinobi was brought back to the present by Anko's words.

"I have been watching her," Anko admitted. The sandaime smiled at her childishly guilty expression; it gave him comfort to see that the hardened killers he commanded could retain such degrees of humanity. In truth that was the reason he tended to tolerate their eccentric behavior.

"And?" he pressed Anko.

"It's no good," Anko declared.

"I see, has someone harmed her?" the Sandaime commented, taking his seat at the desk.

"Noone touches her, that's the problem. When she doesn't get to see you, Hokage-sama, she goes to a ramen stand for a while then just wanders around. Even I at least hung around with other kids; she hears insults more than anything!" Anko found herself exclaiming. Though she could not help but recall how those casual acquaintances had deserted her when she most needed support.

"What is your point?" Sarutobi Hiruzen demanded.

"If something isn't done your going to have a psychotic container on your hands," Anko stated.

"What would you have me do?" His voice was steel as the brim of his hat cast his face in shadow. Anko took a half-step back, suddenly self-conscious of the situation.

"If a mob were foolish enough to form, demanding her blood, the ANBU would reduce them to bloody ribbons. It was only bizarre circumstance that made your own intervention necessary. But this is not Iwa; I cannot tell the people how to behave within the bounds of the law. If the merchants cheat her and the people shun her there is nothing I can do without loosing credibility," the Sandaime told her what she should already have realized.

"Even, if she isn't injured nothing good will come of her living alone and isolated like this. Isn't there somewhere you can put her?" Anko offered meekly.

"The very night I revealed the Fourth's final act, several clans offered to adopt her into their ranks," the Hokage admitted.

He turned too looked out the window, his usually high shoulders seemed to droop a bit. "But in the end her adoption would have been a matter of politics. The Uchiha and Hyuugas seeing her as a means to increase their power and most holding a similar motivation to some degree. And there were those who believed she should be put to death. Danzo actually requested her being raised in his ROOT program," Sarutobi elaborated. Anko winced at that last one, she had encountered the one-eyed elders agents; he seemed to take the Nidaime's worldview too far by a couple of kilometers.

"Others, like the Aburame, seemed sincere, but in the end politics prevailed. As Hokage my duty is to protect the Leaf, and that includes maintaining internal stability. The Uchiha-Hyuuga rivalry made the situation worse back then, and now the Hyuuga would see any other clan taking her in as a challenge to their dominance."

He bowed his head, still facing the window. "The civilians are out of the question. Their fear is strengthened by ignorance. They view Naru as the Kyuubi reborn, and treat her as such. Many times civilian families have inquired about adopting her, only to prove hostile under investigation. Even with those who are not malicious, I doubt any of them could provide the security she would need growing up amongst such a hostile community."

"As for shinobi, outside the clans… in all this time only one shinobi has offered to adopt her and proven pure in his intentions. However, I denied his request," Sarutobi finalized.

"Anyone I know?" Anko asked. She frowned at this information, it was hard to believe that any sincere applicant would not have been an improvement.

"It was Maito Gai," the Hojkage answered.

"Who? Oh, that eyebrow guy that yells about youth? What was wrong with him?" Anko inquired. Trying to recall what she could about the man she remembered he liked green, and she thought she had once seen him carrying a boulder on his back. Searching her memory she did not catch the Sandaime's murmured initial response; something about 'green monsters' and 'not needing anymore.'

"I am sorry what?" Anko queried bringing her attention back to the present.

"Ah, well, you see in addition to taking many missions his style calls for an intense and time consuming training regimen. As such he would not really have the time to fill the role of a single father without neglecting his duties. A most, regrettable fact," the Hokage affirmed stroking his beard.

"So, that is the best you can do?" Anko sighed. The elder shinobi looked at her with understanding and world weary eyes.

"Ruling is not like completing a mission, often it is impossible to tell if you have succeeded or failed," Sarutobi told her. The Snake mistress excused herself shortly after, thanking him for his time she departed less spirited than she arrived. The Hokage would reflect on the meeting for sometime as he returned to his paperwork.

* * *

Naru sat on the roof of her apartment building, legs dangling over the end of  
the ledge. The sun was setting and she liked to watch the twilight play out  
across the village. There were many spots she liked to watch from allowing  
different views of the city, though she had yet to find anything that she  
could call the best spot. Anyone who knew her would comment on how at this  
time she was uncharacteristically quiet and focused.

"Hey brat," Anko greeted, crouching directly behind Naru. To say the girl was  
surprised would be an understatement, Anko couldn't help but grin as the tiny  
blonde literally popped up in surprise. As the girl's new footing was a bit off, she flailed wildly to keep from falling until Anko seized her orange shirt backwards and kept her from harms way; also known as falling on her ass. Not that she stayed down whirling on the purple haired woman and meeting her at eye level with a furious gaze.

"Crazy lady, are you trying to kill me!" Naru shrieked. With the words her  
said, her mind finally seemed to kick in and she deflated. The change caused Anko's own smirk to fade as she remembered why she was here.

"Bra- . . . Naru," Anko caught herself. Naru narrowed her eyes at the second word, Anko had never once used her actual name. They stood there for about a minute; neither saying anything.

"What?" Naru finally demanded.

"Shut up brat I'm trying to apologize for the other day!" Anko yelled. Naru  
took a step back before frowning.

"You're apologizing?" Naru asked puzzled.

"Yep, glad that's over," Anko said rising to her feet. Naru's mouth fell open  
before her expression darkened.

"Wait a sec, you didn't really apologize! That doesn't count!" Naru shook  
her fist at Anko.

"Well since it was half your fault, I only need to make a half assed apology, so that should be good enough," Anko shrugged. Naru scowled and crossed her arms before looking up at Anko grimly.

"You suck," she said flatly. Anko roared with laughter at the dead pan  
declaration and reached over to ruffle the girl's hair.

"Now now, brat keep the insults up and I might not buy you dinner," Anko  
chided.

"What?" Naru squeaked, still trying to push Anko's hand off her head.

* * *

Have you ever had one of those days? A day in which work, family, or really  
anything has left you so drained that when you finally reach the sanctuary of  
your quarters you long only for bed and the rest that will take you away from  
the exhaustion that permeates your being? Forget food, bathing is not even  
considered, and even changing out of your current attire is dismissed as  
something for later; nay all that matters is bed plus you. Only for you to  
discover upon reaching the much coveted piece of furniture has been replaced by a board covered in pointy metal spikes. The expression Naru wore on her face would fit that situation. She stared at her plate, as if both enraged by the contents while simultaneously trying to alter reality by sheer force of will to remove aforesaid eatables.

"I wanted ramen," Naru pouted.

"Well you're getting dango," Anko remarked from across the table. Both of them  
were sitting at a corner table to Anko's favorite dango place, which actually  
served a number of items. The place was much quieter than one would expect  
from the number of patrons present, the musician that thrummed on his stringed  
instrument reduced the conversation to a mere murmur in the background.  
Though I suppose it was to be almost expected, this establishment proudly  
catered to Shinobi of the Leaf, and loud shinobi were the exception to the  
rule. Granted in Konahoa one could confuse that fact with the behavior of a  
number of its famed shinobi. Either way most respected the establishment as a  
calm environment and left their rowdiness to those businesses that were quite  
receptive of such antics

As it was Anko was the usual suspect for disturbing the peace, and tonight  
with a guest she garnered even more attention.

"Dango's disgusting," Naru muttered.

"I'm buying so I decide what to get," Anko responded cheerily, lightly bonking  
the girl on the head with a spent dango stick. Naru rubbed the spot and pushed the plate laden with dango away.

"You're supposed to be apologizing, you should get what I like not what you  
want," Naru whined.

"Well I never said I was good at apologizing. Now eat, it's a crime to  
let good dango sit like that," Anko said through eating another skewer.

"No, it's yucky," Naru shook her head.

"I'll have you know dango is a blessing from the kami. I dare you to take  
one bite and tell me otherwise," Anko scowled. She grinned internally as  
the little girl picked up a skewer of dango, the brat struck her as the type  
who couldn't refuse a dare.

The internal grin slipped as Naru bared her teeth and somehow tore a single  
grain of rice from the ball into her mouth. After making a show of chewing  
the grain she stuck out her tongue with a look of disgust.

"Oh no you don't! There is no way you even tasted that!" Anko yelled, bolting up  
from her seat as the little girl continued blowing a raspberry at her.

"I don't have to taste poop to know its yucky," Naru stated. A chill  
descended over the restaurant and Naru quickly realized she had crossed a  
line. For when dealing with Mitarashi Anko, you could insult her, insult her  
precious serpents, desecrate her mother's grave, and even mock her few  
friends; most often she would just laugh it off and quietly plot vengeance and  
forget before doing anything. Dango, though, no one insulted her precious in  
front of her with impunity.

* * *

_A Short Time later:_

Yuuhi Kurenai was not in the best of moods. Somehow she had acquired Kakashi for evening conversation, and that always irritated her. It was not his man of few words approach to conversation, or even his air of casual disinterest in most everything. The source of her problem lay between two orange covers and now, as always, was being held shamelessly by the infamous Copy Nin.

Kurenai prided herself on maintaining a proper lifestyle despite her career. To date she had avoided the infamous eccentricity of the Leaf Elites and the deadened worldview common to other ranking Shinobi. While she leaned towards conservative she did not consider herself prudish. There was absolutely nothing wrong with wanting smut that depicted women as sex crazed nymph nudists to burn die and be consigned to yomi along with all who create such filth.

Preoccupied with her prim and proper thoughts she only idly noted they were going to dine at one of Anko's hangouts. It wasn't unusual to arrive in the midst of the self proclaimed snake mistress causing a disturbance. The sight that greeted the jounin and elite chunin however gave both of them pause, quite the achievement considering their experiences as shinobi.

Anko stood over her usual table, pinning some poor girl to it, as she apparently forced a skewer of dango down the poor child's throat. Kurenai despite long association with the borderline insane Snake mistress was floored by the, oddity. Kakashi however after he took in the situation simply gave one of his trademarked "eye smiles".

"I must say when the priests talk about combating hunger I never thought it would turn out so literal," Kakashi remarked, before returning his attention to the porn. Anko's head snapped up so quick at his voice Kurenai was a bit worried her friend might have pulled something. Realizing she was being observed in an act which even to her made little sense, the kunouichi became self conscious for once. Apparently the other patrons did not register to her as a valid audience. Straightening herself up she faced her friend and superior scratching the back of her head, leaving Naru to try and pull out the skewer rammed down her esophagus.

"She insulted the dango," Anko answered the unasked question. Kurenai's eye twitched, she tried to be patient and the bigger person, but Anko just had to maintain the second poorest impulse control in the Leaf. Kakashi only looked lazily up from his book taking the situation in stride it would seem.

"I didn't realize you two were so close. Never thought a day would when Mitarashi Anko would willfully share her dango," the elite jounin remarked. Anko paled realizing she had indeed wasted some of her precious on an unenlightened culinary heathen. But the implication she noticed a second later was far worse. So Anko went to her default.

"Bye!" Anko yelled. Grabbing the still choking Naru by the hair Anko vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"So am I buying?" Kakashi asked Kurenai idly.

* * *

_Naru's Apartment Building:_

"Ahh!" Naru squeaked as she was tossed up into the air by her hair and landed on her rump. Never one to stay down she was quickly on her feet rubbing her much abused posterior as she glared at the chief offender. Anko was rapidly regaining what passed for her composure, meeting the girl's glare with an amused grin; an expression which only seemed to further agitate the child.

"Well now we're square," Anko declared. Naru ceased her glaring to blink in confusion at the words. Realization caused her to stomp forward and point accusingly at the purple haired woman.

"No! You almost killed me with your yucky dango! That doesn't count all!" Naru whined shrilly. Anko just yawned and pulled a skewer of dango out from her jacket. Naru leapt back raising her arms defensively, only to nearly face fault when Anko began casually eating the food.

"Well either way good night brat," Anko remarked. Naru looked around for the first time and realized they were actually in front of her apartment building.

"Neat," Naru commented awed at the distance the jutsu had seemingly taken them. She turned back to see Anko already walking away, and after a moment of indecision jumped up yelling.

"Crazy lady!" Naru yelled. Anko stopped and turned her head still chewing on her post dinner snack.

"Umm, even though your crazy; I'm glad your back," Naru murmured. Anko merely flicked the spent skewer at the before vanishing yet again in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

_**Well there you have it. I doubt it was worth the wait. This was very hard to write, so big thanks go out to Snipa, my new Beta.**_

**DANKE SCHON SNIPA!**

Serpent Stalking


	5. What?

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Teen Titans or Naruto; if I did I would be rich. Instead the actual owners are rich, and I am not. Are you happy now?_

_Chapter Critiqued by: _Snipa

**

* * *

**

**What?**

In the semi arid countryside a dust cloud had kicked up. When the wind blew it away a strange sight would have been revealed if anyone other than an apathetic lizard was there to see it. A human was hunched over, its head stuck in the ground like an ostrich. The remnants of burned dark purple barely covered a black shirt and battered green flak jacket and similarly beat up dark blue pants. The only thing that seemed in good order was the pack on her back and the pouches on her belt. If she had been wearing shoes they were long gone.

"Crap, that hurt like a bit*h," Naru groaned as she pulled her head out of the ground.

"Ah man now I'll have to wash my hair!" the shinobi griped as she pulled herself into a kneeling position brushing dirt from her shoulder length blonde hair. Slitting her eyes she glanced at the arid terrain in growing puzzlement.

"What just happened?" she wondered rising to her feet. She remembered the chakra explosion and some kind falling which reminded her of when she ate that hash hesh ball on a bet. Frankly despite her infamous never say die credo she had expected that last one to do her in.

"If this is the afterlife, I demand I refund," Naru pouted crossing her arms. It was at this point she noticed her shadow cast to her side, and more importantly the shape of the shadow. Something was sticking a good way out from her butt. Whirling around she saw, arid landscape, and realizing the mistake reached around her back and her slitted eyes bugged out.

The Most Explosive Kunoichi of the Leaf was struck silent as she took in the purple fox tail sticking out of her pants.

"Oh no you don't!" Naru yelled yanking on the enemy. Only to cry out in pain as she span on the spot in a circle trying to pull the tail off as pain surged up her spine and had a party in her head she wasn't invited too. Eventually she realized this wasn't working and fell to the ground gritting her teeth as the tail twitched spastically.

"Best two out of three," Naru declared; though she waited another two minutes, before actually getting up to resume the 'battle'.

This time when Naru got to her feet she took her time selecting a kunai from her pouch with care. Drawing the most versatile of a shinobi's tools she inspected it with care. As a final test she ran it along the tip of her right middle finger leaving a tiny cut blooming red for a second before healing over. Nodding in satisfaction she pulled her tail around in front of her and with a war cry began sawing on it.

It hurt like heck but hell if she was going to parade around like some damn fox. Bad enough to have one inside her. The bleeding appendage slipped through her grip in a vicious tug that threw her off balance. Reaching behind herself she was surprised to find no tail, but frowned on feeling the hard bump with a shallow depression just above her 'glorious' bum.

"Did that that thing just retreat? Come out you coward and die like an appendage!" Naru tried to yell at her ass. She naturally received no response and started to pout. Her mood was soured when after a few minutes of pouting she felt a relief like taking a well needed dump and actually felt the tail; waving behind.

"Ah nuggets," Naru cursed when inspection revealed the tail was now uninjured. Maybe if she sat on some explosive tags it would die before it could retreat? Nah, might alert enemies to her-

"What a second just where am I?" Naru asked returning her thoughts to the situation. It looked like the borderlands between Wind and Fire, but that still didn't explain how she got here. She decided she could wait a while to blow herself up, she would see if there any ramen around her and get some directions first.

She pouted slightly, as looking around revealed no clear hint as to where she was. The terrain was indeed like the edge of Fire country bordering Wind, slightly mountainous with loose forest. Her training had her looking to the tree's and duly noting that they were nothing like the large, almost unnatural tree's of Fire Country and were more like the normal Pine and evergreen that were present throughout the other countries.

But while the normal woody scent of the forest filled her nostrils, other ones did as well and Naru sniffed slightly. She really didn't care at the moment that it made her look even more Fox-like, as her stomach was starting to growl.

Both over and under the smell of the forest, she could make out the smell of smoke, steel, and glass. A subtle hint of chemicals as well, along with overtures of the sea, salty and wet completed the picture. She smiled, eyes glittering. It was a smell she knew, and was almost universal.

"A city, and a large one!" Naru chirped with a grin. A city meant people, which meant directions.

She turned to the nearest tree and sprinted up the side, shooting up and over like a rocket and into flip, before landing balancing perfectly on the very top of the tree. But smell was often deceiving, and in this case she was unprepared for the sheer scale of the city.

"Whoa, that's biiiiiiig!" Naru exclaimed from her perch.

The city in the distance was indeed big, and it was clearly seen lacking the traditional walls for some reason. It sprawled all over the coast of the area, and the buildings seemed to reach into the sky. It actually reminded her of the few Ruined Cities that scattered the Elemental Countries. Even from here, she was surprised at the almost glow of it, the sun shining off of glass and steel.

From her best guess, Naru thought she could fit a Konoha or two in there, along with a bit of Suna.

Then she heard it.

A roaring, grinding sound. It startled Naru for a moment, before she recognized it and gave herself a slap.

"Just a motor, duh!"

But to Naru, it sounded like a much larger Motor then what she was used too and she looked around to see what was causing it. A motor might mean a boat, which would mean a river of some sorts being nearby. Instead, from her perch, she noticed a long, winding strip of black nearby with white-and-yellow lines drawn on it.

Quirking her head and blinking, Naru tree-hopped over to see. Besides, the sound was coming from that way.

Landing and perching on another tree, Naru stared down at the black strip to realize that it was some kind of stone, and was pretty much like a road. Unfortunately, the sound of motors she had heard before was gone. Looking both ways, she could see that one way seemed to lead deeper into the mountains and away from the city, while the other revealed to head towards and perhaps into the city.

All she did was smile.

* * *

_A Short Time Later:_

Naru had to admit it, but this was a lot bigger when you were actually inside it and not just looking at it.

Also, it was a fair bit less pretty, and way noisier and more crowded then she thought.

But she actually kinda liked it. Large groups of people milled about and moved down raised stone paths, as the black rock road stretched through here as well. Except, now she knew what had been making that noise before.

She regretted that part.

She wrinkled her nose again as the smells burnt their way inside. The strange metal things were like the train, or a number of the devices she had encountered around the Elemental nations. They were just metal bodies set on wheels and provided motion through a motor; except, they apparently came in all sorts of designs without any clear practical difference besides aesthetics. They lined the roads, apparently providing fairly rapid transportation.

She still didn't like them.

On the other hand, as she stood and watched from the roof of a fairly tall building, she wondered why she hadn't been captured yet. Wasn't there some sort of Shinobi here? There had to be. Such a big city, even if they did not have a place to train their own should at least be close enough to a village to merit some sort of Shinobi force. Even if not, then there was always bound to be people hiring Shinobi for their own means.

Plus, Shinobi were a curious lot. She knew she was. It was just part of the job, regardless of what people said. She had barely even bothered hiding her Chakra presence, not that she was that good at it anyways. She was like a living flare, and every Shinobi around should have been crawling out of their hiding spots to see who was intruding.

Either way, her stomach growled again more insistent then before and she realized that she was going to have to get some Ramen.

But looking at the crowds below and her own choice of fashion, she had to admit that there might be a wardrobe malfunction on some side of the line. And while not one to normally care about fashion, just like her Kaa-san, she was one to care about keeping a low profile when the situation clearly called for it. Until she realized where she was and who she could be fighting when she stirred up the hornets nest, she would have to go native.

And by all means, who said she couldn't have fun while she was at it?

Thankfully, it didn't take long to find someone to helpfully donate to her unfortunate cause. She had already seen that the Money here was different, not that she carried any when she went on missions or expected a fight anyways unless a stop at a town was clearly made out. So shopping had been crossed off the list right away.

She actually hated clothes shopping.

Normal shopping? That was a bit better. Ninja shopping? She could shop till she dropped like the best and worst of them.

The Donatee in question was a Teenage Girl, with an apparent taste in fashion similar to her mothers. Which was always a plus, really. Although it did lack she sheer skin of her Kaa-san's fashion choices, it would work. She smiled as she shushined down into a nearby alley, and waited.

A simple Genjutsu tricked the Donatee into walking into the alley, promptly knocked out by a strike to the neck. Naru stripped the girl down in short ad professional order; I wasn't like she hadn't this before, for business as well as laughs. Since this was a stranger she left her victim, er Donatee, her underwear and some of the more worthless stuff she rooted out of the purse. Sealing her own clothes and her pack into her scrolls she put her scrolls into the now, mostly empty purse and with practiced ease smeared make up over her whisker marks. Even after all these years it still itched to mess with the marks, but they were too distinct for a good infiltration.

When Naru stepped out onto the walkway she was not exactly blending in, but she stood out in a normal manner. She let her shoulder length sun blonde hair fall freely framing her face nicely. She wore a short sleeved light brown trench coat that was opened revealing a white tube top that she thought looked more like an oversized bra. The pants were blue and too tight to make the pockets usable. The black shoes she already hated, they looked alright but the heels were too high to let you move easily with them and they were pinching her toes. It was the sort of thing Ino used to dream about in the academy, probably Sakura and the other girls that had cared more about fashion magazine articles than directions on how to kill someone with only a spoon and a paper cup.

Naru stopped along with the crowd she was moving with and looked around. This city was something else, was she on another continent? At the very least she could freely glance around without attracting permission, as a thriving port she could easily be mistaken for a traveler or visitor of some kind. At some unheard signal people started to move crossing the black road, she noticed an electric sign depicting a green walking man. Hmm, the stuff you never think about upgrading.

She narrowed her eyes glaring at a red motor machine standing a few paces away from her as she walked past. What a horrible idea, and she thought horses smelled bad; at least they were fun to scare when they weren't being polite.

Then there was a boom specifically a non explosive force collapsing a wall made from stone or masonry of some kind. Naru knew her booms, booms were her business. She really wanted to see the cause of this boom, in her experience following the booms lead you to interesting things.

She weaved through the crowd with a swift walk, a fine art to move quickly without breaking from pattern into a run. Running could easily be picked out, what she was doing not so much; that old tried and true paranoia never goes away. Not that she was complaining; it takes hard work to become just the right kind of paranoid as old scar face would say. She winced slightly at the thought; it reminded her that this was terra incognita, which meant she was self reliant until she could find some ground to work from.

Thankfully Naru was distracted from further thought by reaching the source of the booms, which had multiplied in number and variety as she drew nearer. She had known she would find a battle, but thought little of it with her experience.

But in what she would have called impossible Mitarashi Naru's jaw dropped at the sight before her.

"What the *uck!" she shouted amidst the thin crowd of courageous and stupid onlookers observing the fight.

* * *

_Later:_

Naru if asked would say she liked surprises; it was even true after a fashion. Her experiences, and the fact those who new her well recognized surprising her to be dangerous, meant it happened pretty rarely these days. But she also hated surprises, in her line of work when something unexpected happened people had a tendency to die.

As she stalked through the ghetto, while noting and ignoring predatory looks from the shadows, she was neither angry nor happy with her surprise earlier. What she was was irritated.

She had never seen a fight like that; even in a movie it would be absurd. Yet it was real, kids dressed like circus performers had defeated a rock giant, and apparently received applause for it. The casual way everyone accepted the event spoke volumes about how what she had witnessed was no unusual occurrence.

Sticking around and watching as armored men carrying strange metal things, presumably weapons, arrived and took away the giant in a larger more solid looking machine she earned some things. The one who wore a mask and had fashion sense like Maito Gai was the leader, and paradoxically behaved like a Hyuuga. The Orange girl could fly, and she was orange, and she was flying, did she already think the girl was flying? The shaper shifter was an idiot and was flirting with some girls that had walked up, not realizing they weren't at all serious about him. Naru felt for the green guy a bit, she had seen Kiba have similar antics only to be ignored in favor of the jackass.

The scary girl, grey skinned and wearing a revealing cloak of all things. Had faded into the background, not far from her comrades if needed, but clearly keen to create some separation. Naru was angered that this girl somehow made her wary and she couldn't tell why.

The metal man was the most worrisome; his body seemed to mostly be composed of puppet components. Sasori had been bad enough, but this guy seemed to have an entirely different manual from the late unlamented Red Sands.

Worst of all throughout the fight there was not a flicker of chakra. Oh she could accept the leader's prowess, a master of taijutsu and kenjutsu; the bushy brows had beaten into her how much one could attain with just those two disciplines. Bit the others, had anyone every told Naru you could perform such feats without chakra she would have called them a dirty liar, and depending on their rank tied them up and hung them naked from a tree. Or at the very least snuck laxatives into their food.

These were not good surprises and sadly she had no receipt so she could rudely return them to the store while buying a single strawberry and making people wait.

She needed information, and fortunately if she had learned one thing on her mother's knee, it was how to get people to sing for you.

Her first victim was predictably a homeless man. Such people could be surprisingly well informed, and the authorities tended to not notice when they vanished. Picking her mark Naru pulled a spool of ninja wire out of a pouch and began to lay out the ambush in her head.

* * *

"So not only do you people have actual heroes, it's an actual profession. Complete with a union having an on again off again pissing match with the government and scabs that no one likes but no one does anything about really?" Naru asked. The wild-eyed greybeard nodded. He was a fairly big guy, might have been impressive physically before old age and alcohol did their work. His clothes were worn but far from rags, Naru would peg him as a "prosperous" member of the demographic. Naru took a swig of his wine bottle that she had saved from destruction when her over sized rabbit snare caught him in this alley. A simple Genjutsu ensured they wouldn't be interrupted and a blue cloth covering her head would make it impossible for him to give real description.

Her kaa-san would have recommended just killing him to minimize problems. Not bloodthirstiness as most thought, just her being a modern pragmatic woman. But fortunately for this man Naru disliked killing hostages; it was so unsporting, besides he was innocent in this matter.

"So in review, the fact that you are ignorant of common knowledge and I have none of the knowledge common to you indicates I am far from home. But since you somehow have enough geography to have seen maps of the world you can safely tell me the Elemental nations don't exist, a since lying would gain you nothing I am inclined to believe you.

"Conclusion, I am very very far from home. Which means until I can figure this out I am on my own and need to go deep cover. Not sure what these heroes would make of me, not worth the risk of prison to try and play pal pal anyway," Naru concluded. With a yank to the ninja wire she released the man who had been dangling in the air, he plopped to the ground with a cry. As he rise and stumbled way Naru called after him.

"Better not mention this to anyone, or I'll wear your skin!" she called after him merrily. That was a lie of course, no matter how much she begged no one would teach her that technique. Gathering up her ninja wire Naru out a fist to her hips and nodded to herself at the successful interrogation.

"Alright now to move up the food chain, a petty criminal or small time gangster. But I'll need some bait, Orioke no Jutsu!" Naru cried out forming the hand signs. A cloud of smoke erupted around her and cleared to reveal an older Naru with a more revealing version of the clothes she had been wearing and longer wavier blond hair with purple highlights. Cupping her new expanded bosom Naru frowned at the heft.

"They're still not Hokage class, but the wonder twins should be up to the task," Naru decided before strutting out of the dispersing Genjutsu tasking another drag from the bottle in the brown paper bag. At this point she didn't notice the purple fox tail waving seductively in her wake.

* * *

_That Night:_

Naru was grateful to have found a neighborhood where she could actually read the signs; it gave a nice illusion that she was somewhere remotely familiar. She was back in her true form, well minus the insistent fox tail. It had taken a bit for her to notice that she was attracting looks not solely fueled by lust for her dangerously sexy jutsu. A brief detour to a roof top and another failed attempt to destroy the appendage had ended with it retreating into her body again. After some practice she found out thinking hostile thoughts toward the tail made the bizarre purple appendage hide. It was still annoying because she could sort of feel it in there, like a slight need to use the loo.

The interrogations she had carried out had been informative, all six. Far too many to be honest, Ibiki would be tearing into her on restraint and the need to preserve the illusion of absence, but for now even the thought of his disapproval wasn't affecting her mood.

Naru had kept finding and asking, because the facts had set in. She was alone with no idea really where she was much less how to get back. Oh she knew the City was named Jump, the land America, and that they elected leaders of all things. But it all may as well be shit because it didn't tell her how to get home! Death she had been prepared for, but this just wasn't fair!

Stopping on the side walk she threw back her head and gave a scream of frustration to the heavens. Her fellow pedestrians looked at her like she had grown a second head and proceeded to make themselves scare. A middle-aged man selling plastic souvenirs nearby frowned a bit, but regarded it with the air of one who had learned the world pulled such stunts. He was a bit put off when she kicked up one foot and revolved on her remaining heel to face him with a wide grin and squinted eyes that he instinctively declared untrustworthy.

"Sorry for that outburst, I just needed to vent, but I'm good now," she told him with a little bow before turning back in the same manner and going on her way.

"Tch, would you jut look at that, me falling apart because shit happened. Hah! Like anything in my life has ever been easy. Most kids get a kaa-san for free from the get go while I had to work to get mine. And that's been the story since, working and cheating so I can take what the world refuses to give me. Geeze I'd better wrap up this monologue I'm starting to sound like caterpillar brows!

"Right then where was I? Oh yeah, if I want to get back, I get back. And may all the gods in heaven, kami of the earth, and oni of hell help anyone poor bastard that gets in my way!" she proclaimed internally as her smile became increasingly unbalanced.

Her internal pep talk was derailed as a scent reached her nostrils, causing her nose to actually twitch. Freezing in her tracks Naru's head snapped to the side so quick onlookers might have feared she popped something. Like a woman in a trance she followed after the aroma and turned a corner, her eye watering at the sign the heavens had bestowed upon her.

"A ramen stand, and so long as there is ramen, there is also hope," Naru sniffed over clasped hands. Wiping away the near formed tears she crossed the street, flipping her middle finger at one of the machines as it screeched to a halt to avoid hitting her, she wasn't going to wait for ramen on top of everything else today. Parting the curtain she sat herself down on a stool, and took a moment to wiggle the seat trying to get comfortable enough to truly enjoy the ramen. The smell and atmosphere was a far cry from Ichiraku, but it would do for now. She slammed her fist down on the counter making the other patrons jump a bit while the little woman running the stand just turned an irritated eye o the blonde.

"Get me three of your biggest bowls with your three best ramen, I could eat a cat I'm so hungry," Naru proudly declared before settling back down. Now if she could just find some pachinko her monetary concerns would also evaporate. If not she would just have to get donations from the locals, ah the ninja life. True she could probably get away with Genjutsu to make people think she had paid for stuff, but she didn't like swindling, unless the merchant deserved it.

**

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AN: And its back!

**True a short chapter, but short is better than none. Right?**

**Anyway you can thank Nocturne no Kitsune for asking when I would update this again and helping me get the fires burning. Next chapter we get back to Naru's childhood. It shouldn't be as difficult as this one; it will have some scenes I have been planning since the early stages finally getting used. Can't say it will be soon though, lots of story to keep updated, but once my major Avatar story is updated I may come back and do this story again to make up for the wait.**

**If I still have any readers, just know reviews make me happy. And while I never hold a story hostage, a happy writer is more likely to write than sit around pining for the day he gets published.**

**Long days pleasant nights. **


	6. Resurgence

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Teen Titans._

* * *

'Resurgence'

Naru was in trouble. She had known this for some time now, but seeing no way to deal with the problem had shunted it off to the side. But it wasn't in her nature to ignore things, she might seem to put on a happy face in the face of them but the gears were turning to try and produce some solution.

She couldn't just dismiss things like Anko either, her mother could accept the disdain of the village writing them off as idiots. She had her family and friends, that was enough to keep her afloat. But Naru, she still dreamed about being able to make them see, and that wasn't something she was going to let go.

Holding onto insane goals was what had made the Hidden Leaf in the first place!

So in her own opinion this tenacity was an asset, persistence had won her many of the better things in her life after all. But now staring up at the cracked ceiling of her new flat it was driving her to a knife's edge.

Wearing a white short sleeved shirt and small purple shorts she laid back in the crappy flat she had acquired. She didn't mind the mess, she had slept in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on her back and the gear in her pouch. And the safe houses she had occupied at times made this look like a palace.

Ibiki had told her every shinobi however great has a breaking point. And its not something to do with quantity. Sure throw enough horrors at them and you can break several, but its often a matter of just striking a single blow to a psychological weak spot.

Naru's spot had a kunai on it, and the weight of the world was starting to press down on it.

It was a brave new world. There was a time when she would have reveled in the possibility of having a fresh start and the new possibilities that it held. It was a world where something as basic as Shinobi was missing. It was true that some men ran around with the name, but as far as she could tell they were mere shadows of the shadows.

However, it seemed as though the Green Beasts' philosophy had caught on at some point and had been allowed to spread like a virus.

She wished that she could tell him and Lee.

But that was the crux of the problem: she was far from home and the friends she left behind.

Naru had been gone for a long time before, but the ties persisted in the people around her and the news of the world. She smiled sadly recalling how she would scan foreign bingo books for entries on her friends and classmates.

Not this time, this time he was cut off. Whatever happened with the seal during the battle had sent her out of reach from those ties that bound her together.

And of course there was that dark little voice whispering there may be nothing to return to. The battle had been turning, but what had happened with the seal? Her own limited education is seals didn't account for what happened, not that being in the middle of it had given her a good perspective. She couldn't even blame the jerk as he had his hands full with the dolls last she saw him. The kunoichi vaguely recalled the fox falling with her, and actually prayed it was so. The demon had never been shy abut the village being the top of its list.

Not because of anything to do with its host, just to render the Fourth's achievement void. It was petty like that.

And there was honestly no way to know what had become of her family, friends, and home. Gods she would be glad to see Sakura walk through the door, creepy dolls and all.

So there was her problem, the social ties that had kept her together through the ambiguity of shinobi life, and the troubles of life in general were for the time being severed. And she honestly could not claim this was temporary.

And the lack of any solution was threatening to unravel her! What could she do about this? Nothing. It was like trying to open a door when there simply was no door, where do you even start?

She could certainly survive, but just living had never been on her to do list. She was ambitious like that.

Rolling onto her side she decided to consult the experts.

"Wallowing in self pity is out, obviously, so what do you guys think I should do?" Naru asked her three confidants.

The three plushies sat in a row as usual on her bed. The purple snake ,the brown dog with its lapping pink tongue, and the red fox with the fluffy tail. The oh so secret contents of her special scroll.

She grabbed the fox first and rolled onto her back hugging the animal.

"The tenant left me this tail, and I can't get rid of it. Even with him gone my chakra's ridiculous, but not what it was. Even if its purple I don't like it, I wish Baachan could look at it and figure it out," Naru grumbled. The red fox had nothing to say to that and she put it back scooping up the dog. This one she let sit on her chest.

"This sucks, there must be a way out of this, but I'm not Shikamaru figuring out puzzles and stuff. I'm good at taking things apart, people included. And these not-shinobi are crazy with their rules, I'm pretty sure they would sooner lock me up than help me," Naru sighed.

The Justice League and their ilk were strange she had found. They never killed their enemies, even when those enemies kept coming back to cause trouble. Then again it seemed these heroes rarely died for good. With a revolving door on the underworld she supposed one might be inclined to mercy, or view execution as a less than permanent solution.

It still struck her as inexcusably sloppy, they seemed more concerned about following the rules tan getting their jobs done.

"Well crap, I'm starting to sound like the Cripple," she grumbled. The less she thought about the ROOT the better, so she lifted the dog to lick her cheek and put it back in place.

That left one distinguished personage for her to consult. She draped the purple snake on her neck and gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Its like the old riddle what happens when an unstoppable force, your's truly, meets an unmovable object, my problem here. The answer is they both get five kinds of fuc*ed.

"What am i to do Hissy Chan? I don't want to be done five ways. There are probably some kids of ramen i haven't tried yet," Naru lamented. The girl suddenly perked up and lifted her head.

"What's that?" she inquired of the purple plushie. With one hand she lifted it head to her ear to listen intently.

"Of course! I just have to plow through the immovable object, why didn't i think of that! Hey!" Naru cheered only to admonish the snake immediately. She leapt from the bed to her feet still holding the toy to her ear.

"But how? When in Kumokagkure does as the Kumo nin?

"That's right a lot of these freaks are from other worlds and even other times according to the gossip. i just need to get myself hooked up.

"But that's probably expensive and these guys seem to have stupid standards for membership. Maybe the other side? Nah, not sure I can be an ass on purpose to strangers without orders.

"Money will be needed either way, and intel, and connections . . .

"Play both sides against the other and leave laughing maniacally? Brilliant!" Naru cheered. She twirled on one foot hugging the snake plushie. She came to an abrupt halt looking thoughtful while petting its head.

"But I'll need an outfit, if I go around dressed well they will fear me to soon. Oh and a name. But no spandex, Mum's snakes would cross the divide to kill me for that," Naru smiled at the thought. She still had a piece of the purple spandex Lee had given to her as a birthday present, it hadn't even been her birthday at the time. It had to be maliciously destroyed of course, but it was still sweet, in a Lee kind of way.

No she would need an outfit that fit this world's requirements while still displaying her pride as a shinobi of the Leaf.

"Hey, I think I just came up with a name," She told her toy. Replacing it in its spot she grinned from ear to ear. Regardless of how she got there, she was back on track and now could build up her steam again.

Marching over to the window she opened it and looked out over a stretch of slums where she could see the shining center of JumpCity; and somewhere beyond it the bay, and the Titan's Tower.

"Look out world Mitarashi Naru is coming to kick ass and take names," she vowed smiling.

The atmosphere was broken when her stomach growled loudly.

"But first, ramen," Naru amended slamming the window shut and ducking out of sight.

* * *

**A.N.**

_Did you think it was dead? I was thinking the same thing. But I made a promise to Nocturne. Its true the previous chapter was terrible, once my new assisting writer gets back from break we will see about turning that sour apple into a pie._

_This story is tricky and will keep being so. It is an AU-Crossover, of franchises I would not normally mix. But it can be done, one step at time and will a willingness to backtrack and fix errors._

_So thank you for reading have a nice Holiday. Hopefully this story in the coming year will live up to the expectations Nocturne had when he made the request._


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